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December 3, 2014

TransForm e-news: December 3, 2014Your monthly pass to world-class public transportation and more wonderful, walkable communities.

What does a connected California look like?

It’s a California where all of us have a chance to live a healthy life. Where our air is safe to breathe, no matter where we live. Where we live near great transportation options, and can safely and reliably get where we need to go, whether we get there on rails, wheels, or on our own two feet.

Silicon Valley – the heart of innovation - deserves cutting-edge transportation choices, not endless gridlock. With buses that could travel even faster than cars, the proposed El Camino Real Bus Rapid Transit project could do this. Now is the time to speak up for a safer, more walkable, bikeable community with a state-of the art transportation system along El Camino Real.

On November 21, BART threw a party for the opening of the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), but we didn’t feel too much like celebrating. That’s because in spite of a $4.8 billion maintenance deficit, BART leaders went ahead with this expensive project that will carry fewer than 1% of BART;S 400,000-plus daily riders.

Last week, environmental groups in San Diego won an important court case that will require the regional transportation agency to create a plan that does much more to protect the climate. The lawsuit creates an opportunity for a healthier San Diego with less traffic and more affordable and reliable alternatives to driving.

For more on the important decision, what San Diego needs to get it right, and implications for other regions, read our blog.

The federal subsidy that's making your commute worse

“Imagine if, at the same time the nation was spending billions of dollars in an effort to alleviate congestion, the federal government was also spending billions of dollars to encourage Americans to drive to work solo.” We don’t have to imagine – that’s reality. It’s not working for our country, and it’s not fair for people who take transit.

TransitCenter’s latest report, Subsidizing Congestion, (quoted above) exposes the unjust realities of federal commuter benefits for people who ride transit versus those who drive a car to work. If you think Congress should give fair benefits to people who take public transportation, take action now.

Join us to pedal for a great cause with Climate Ride 2015

Need a little inspiration to shake the winter blues? Want to meet great people who care about climate protection, bicycling, and the environment? Then you’ll want to join the TransForm Carbon Crushers team for Climate Ride. This 5-day bike ride is a unique opportunity to raise funds for TransForm, while experiencing the beauty of California on two wheels.

If you’d like to learn more about the Climate Ride and the TransForm Carbon Crushers team, join us on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 for a Brown Bag Info Session. We’ll provide an overview of the event and resources available to help you train, fundraise, and conquer the 250 miles from Eureka to San Francisco. Please contact Anjali Mehta with questions, or just come on by with your lunch.

We're hiring (x2!)

Do you want to help make California a more affordable, safer, and a better place to live, walk, bike, and take transit? If so, consider joining our team by applying to one of our two open positions:

For more details about these employment opportunities, and instructions on how to apply, visit our jobs page.

"Get Moving" at the 2015 Silicon Valley Summit in March

If you wish Silicon Valley had better transit service, vibrant and safe streets to walk and bike on, and housing options that don’t cost an arm and a leg, you’re not alone. Join hundreds of people just like you who care deeply about making Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties safer, more affordable, and better connected by improving transportation choices and fostering healthy communities.

For Californians who rely on public transportation to connect them to jobs, school, health care, and more, bad transit is more than an inconvenience. It’s a barrier to living a high-quality life. That’s why California’s investment plan to fund the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) is such a critical piece of our state’s cap-and-trade program, and its newly released Draft Guidelines offer us a chance to weigh in on the process.

Save the date - TransForm is gearing up for the California Transportation Choices Summit 2015: Year of Action to be held on April 27, 2015 at the scenic Embassy Suites along the Sacramento River. Join us for an energizing day of policy education, network building, and strategizing with activists, planners, and agency leaders from around the state. The action will continue on April 28 during our annual Advocacy Day, when you can meet with representatives at the Capitol. Save the date, and help us transform California in 2015.

Bring your lunch and join us for a conversation on “Leveling the Playing Field for Sustainable Transportation.” Learn how Traffic Impact Analysis focused on the speed of vehicles has caused so much damage, and what we can do to change that.

The Caltrain Holiday Train presented by Silicon Valley Community Foundation returns to the Peninsula. Decorated with 70,000 lights, the dazzling show-train will visit nine Caltrain stations between San Francisco and Santa Clara and collecting donations of toys for local children. View the train schedule.

CicLAvia makes its first journey to South LA on December 7. Enjoy the sights, music, food and culture that makes South LA such a vibrant part of Los Angeles. Learn more about the open streets event at cicLAvia.org.

GreenTRIP's Jennifer West will be presenting the GreenTRIP Parking Database as a new technology to support cities in planning updates and in right-sizing parking in new project approvals. For more information, contact Valerie Knepper.

California Walks, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, TransForm, and San Jose STEPS Coalition invite you to a Safe Streets Daylight Vigil to commemorate the lives lost to traffic violence and call on the city of San Jose to end these preventable deaths.

Join San Diego County Bicycle Coalition for their 4th Annual Holiday Joy Ride on December 11th at 5:30 PM. This event is family friendly. Your ticket includes one free drink ticket and light appetizers. Purchase your ticket online.